"The Great Lakes--Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior--hold 20 percent of the world's supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan's compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come."--Page 4 of cover.

Carving a fourth seacoast: dreams of a seaway -- Three fish: the story of lake trout, sea lampreys and alewives -- The world's great fishing hole: the introduction of coho and chinook salmon -- Noxious cargo: the invasion of zebra and quagga mussels -- Continental undivide: Asian carp and Chicago's backwards river -- Conquering a continent: the mussel infestation of the west -- North America's "dead" sea: toxic algae and the threat to Toledo's water supply -- Plugging the drain: the never-ending threat to siphon away Great Lakes water -- A shaky balancing act: climate change and the fall and rise of the lakes -- A Great Lake revival: charting a course toward integrity, stability and balance.